Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. (NYSE:MLM - Free Report) by 75.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,168 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 9,703 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Martin Marietta Materials were worth $1,636,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MLM. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Martin Marietta Materials by 54,277.3% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 918,432 shares of the construction company's stock worth $474,370,000 after purchasing an additional 916,743 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Martin Marietta Materials by 76.2% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,628,701 shares of the construction company's stock worth $876,648,000 after buying an additional 704,460 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials in the fourth quarter worth about $306,863,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,678,425 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,441,663,000 after buying an additional 506,705 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Martin Marietta Materials during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $196,374,000. Institutional investors own 95.04% of the company's stock.

Martin Marietta Materials Price Performance

Shares of MLM traded up $13.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $536.61. 386,424 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 485,352. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.40 and a current ratio of 2.50. The company has a market cap of $32.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.89. Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. has a 52-week low of $441.95 and a 52-week high of $633.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $485.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $530.06.

Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE:MLM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The construction company reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.02. Martin Marietta Materials had a net margin of 30.54% and a return on equity of 12.11%. The company had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. Martin Marietta Materials's revenue was up 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Martin Marietta Materials, Inc. will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Martin Marietta Materials Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. Martin Marietta Materials's dividend payout ratio is currently 18.20%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Donald A. Mccunniff sold 1,332 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $475.00, for a total transaction of $632,700.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 3,523 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,673,425. This represents a 27.44 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Michael J. Petro acquired 550 shares of Martin Marietta Materials stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $454.37 per share, for a total transaction of $249,903.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,985 shares in the company, valued at $4,082,514.45. This trade represents a 6.52 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.68% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Martin Marietta Materials from $701.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Martin Marietta Materials to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut Martin Marietta Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Wolfe Research raised Martin Marietta Materials from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $563.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their target price on Martin Marietta Materials from $645.00 to $615.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Martin Marietta Materials presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $603.23.

Martin Marietta Materials Profile

Martin Marietta Materials, Inc, a natural resource-based building materials company, supplies aggregates and heavy-side building materials to the construction industry in the United States and internationally. It offers crushed stone, sand, and gravel products; ready mixed concrete and asphalt; paving products and services; and Portland and specialty cement for use in the infrastructure projects, and nonresidential and residential construction markets, as well as in the railroad, agricultural, utility, and environmental industries.